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Politician cum actor, Kenneth Okonkwo, has called out the federal government for keeping the former wife of the Ooni of Ife, Naomi Silekunola, in jail over the recent Ibadan stampede that led to injuries and loss of lives.
Okonkwo, in a post on Thursday via his X account, said the former Queen never intended to murder those who lost their lives during the stampede in Ibadan in an attempt to get Christmas gifts.
He insisted that keeping ex-Queen Naomi and others involved in the case in jail would discourage other benefactors who are willing to help needy Nigerians.
The former Labour Party chieftain agreed that the deaths and injuries from the Ibadan stampede are regrettable, but the former Queen shouldn’t be blamed for the occurrence.
He insisted that the root cause of the death of these people is hunger and hardship.
“The incarceration of former Queen Naomi and others in jail because of the unfortunate stampede in Ibadan is quite disheartening. For her love to help, the government, which couldn’t help its citizens, is punishing her. There’s no way she ever intended to murder these innocent people. One can not in good conscience claim that she was careless, reckless, or negligent in the discharge of the palliative items. It couldn’t have ever been her fault that she expected 500 persons, for instance, and got 5,000.
“By this unGodly act of punishing benefactors, the government is unwittingly discouraging other kindhearted philanthropists from helping the less privileged.
“The Ibadan stampede was very unfortunate, and may the souls of the departed rest in peace. However, the mere fact that the Queen and others are left to spend Christmas holidays in detention for daring to assist others nearly ruined my own Christmas holidays.
“The government should please release the Queen and other benefactors immediately and offer advice on how best to handle such a distribution next time. The root cause of the death of these people is hunger and hardship, not necessarily the carelessness of the handlers of the distribution of the palliative,” he wrote.
